On To The Future

During Mary Stagaman's 25 years at the University of Cincinnati, the school experienced a metamorphosis.

The
urban public college evolved into a research and academic force,
complete with shiny new branding and strengthened community ties.

As
the incoming executive director for Agenda 360, Stagaman is working
toward similar goals on a region-wide scale. Agenda 360 has set out to
make Cincinnati a leading metropolitan area by retaining workers,
growing jobs and providing economic opportunity. Among specific goals:
200,000 new jobs by 2020.

The odds are challenging, but not discouraging.

"What
the economy has done, actually, is provided something else we needed
that we didn't have. And that is a sense of urgency," Stagaman says.

Agenda
360 is a collective of programs backed by the Cincinnati USA Regional
Chamber and supported by business, civic and governmental leaders.
Beyond the four counties of southwest Ohio, Agenda 360 is dovetailing
efforts with Northern Kentucky's Vision 2015 and efforts in southeast
Indiana to improve the quality of life.

Stagaman,
as UC's associate vice president of external affairs, has been involved
with Agenda 360 since its beginning in 2007. She's volunteered on the
steering committee and recently was co-chair of Council 360. This
month, Stagaman succeeds Myrita Craig, who is leaving to pursue
professional interests.

A Global Force

Though there is much to be done, Agenda 360 is already seeing measures of success.

In
2009, it was awarded the Organizational Champion Award from the
Alliance for Regional Stewardship (ARS) for commitment to an innovative
economy, livable communities, social inclusion and collaborative style
of governance.

Recently, it revealed it was
taking on a new challenge in an area where Cincinnati is already out
ahead: the consumer marketing and branding industry. As the home base
for major players in the field, Agenda 360 wants to make Cincinnati the
Silicon Valley of consumer marketing.

"Some
people might say that we're guilty of hubris in believing we can do
that," Stagaman admits. "We happen to think we have all the assets we
need to really make that real."

The industry
is, of course, grounded in Procter & Gamble's long local history.
Gov. Ted Strickland announced in July that Cincinnati was named a Hub
in Innovation and Opportunity in consumer marketing. Accompanying the
designation is a $250,000 grant to help the effort. It will "assist the
region's already strong business and educational community in
attracting young creative talent, new companies, and job opportunities
in consumer marketing in Ohio," Strickland says.

One
goal that's encountering more skepticism is the plan to add 200,000
jobs to the region by 2020, which seems daunting with the national
economic and employment trends.

"Of course the
economy is affecting how we feel about the goals we've set and where
we're going with the agenda," Stagaman admits. "It has not, however,
caused us to step back and say we need to realign and change our goals
right now."

She points out that the regions
facing greater economic trouble are those that were not prepared.
Agenda 360 was busy planning for growth when the recession hit, so
instead of shocking the plan into oblivion, it acted as a necessary
catalyst.

Mapping a Vision

When
Stagaman and former Executive Director Craig began working on Agenda
360 in 2007, they set out to fill a gap. "One thing that was pretty
clear "” we didn't have an aligned vision for our region," Craig says.
"We had a lot of great things taking place, but they weren't really
things that everyone was coalesced around."

The
Agenda 360 team (originally called the Shared Regional Civic Agenda)
started by surveying more than 8,000 Cincinnatians in spring of 2007
about what they wanted for the region. From the results, they developed
six priority areas, as well as ways to measure and connect actions. The
priorities are: business growth, qualified workforce, transportation,
inclusion, government collaboration and quality place.

Agenda
360 was organized as an intellectual umbrella encompassing
organizations already working on similar goals. "The Chamber acted as
kind of a catalyst and a convener in the beginning," Craig recalls. "It
wasn't completely apparent that the Chamber would own it at the end of
the process, but we felt like we needed to bring all the other entities
and individuals together."

A Citizen Advisory
Panel continues to keep goals in line with public input. The
organization is also divided into an oversight board to look at the big
picture and Council 360, which is made up of stakeholders who represent
the groups involved. More than 700 organizations are represented, with
individuals from a range of organizations, such as labor unions, civic
leaders, lawyers and business groups.

For inspiration, the group need look no further than across the river.

Vision
2015, the plan for Northern Kentucky, is in full swing. The plan that
had sprouted flashy riverfront development, as well as improvements to
nearby neighborhoods including Bellevue, is a guiding force to
Kentucky's neighbors to the north.

"They saw
the riverfront development and the collaboration process between the
people in Kentucky in an efficient way, and we have sustained our model
since the "¢80s," says Bill Scheyer, Vision 2015 president. "They said,
"¢Let's learn from the experiences right here in the region, at the
intersecting points where we can work together.'"

Stagaman echoes, "We rise or fail together."

The Road Ahead

Stagaman
doesn't stand on top of the Carew Tower, shouting Agenda 360's
accomplishments. She does, however, point to successes including the
Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network, which has bridged workforce
networks and helps people succeed in their jobs. And, the Arts &
Culture Partnership has worked to explore the next stage of the Fine
Arts Fund and how it will affect support of that sector.

Agenda
360 can also point to progress for the next generation of Cincinnati
leaders. Local children have benefited from the Strive program, which
guides them to college and eventually a career. It is currently being
replicated in four cities around the country.

Another program, Success by Six, is documenting greater levels of readiness in children going off to kindergarten.

"That
alone, to me, is something that we ought to be standing over on
Fountain Square celebrating, because it really speaks to the future of
our community," Stagaman says.

While Agenda 360's successes can ultimately lead to our improvement, it faces potential obstacles.

"Some
of the challenges [for Vision 2015] were how to keep enthusiasm up,
continue to have a broad group involved, and stay focused on
high-impact issues," Scheyer says. The sister program in Cincinnati
could expect similar tests.

The plan is also a tall order for a city that has a mixed history of results of ambitious plans of the past.

They
can be credited with the region's sprawling highways, a more regional
outlook and riverfront growth. However, the unforeseen downside of the
Metropolitan Master Plan of the 1940s can be blamed for the forced exit
of 30,000-40,000 West End residents to make room for I-75.

In
the 1990s, the Metropolitan Growth Alliance funded an analysis of the
region (called The Gallis Report) and made plans for improvement.

"Some
of the organizations and businesses that had funded the initial study,
for whatever set of reasons, sort of lost interest. And it all melted
away very quickly," says Dan Hurley, local historian and executive
producer of Channel 12's Newsmakers. Hurley was on the steering
committee for the Growth Alliance, and is currently the director of the
Chamber's Leadership Cincinnati program.

The
sole concrete success of the once-impressive program: Paddlefest, the
canoe and kayak event that brings 1,800 paddlers to the city's banks of
the Ohio River.

"From the point where Gallis
starts, which is this huge, regional perspective, that you end up down
here, at this one event, is a terrible commentary on the collapse of
community will to implement it," Hurley comments. "It was a shame. I
think it was one of the great missed opportunities that this region has
had."

Agenda 360 is laid out differently to
avoid such failures. It was structured with existing programs that
demonstrated success and is backed by the Chamber, which gives it a
strong institution as a home, rather than a loose affiliation of
leaders.

"We are committed to measuring
ourselves," Craig says. The Chamber measures through regional indicator
reports, with individual programs striving for markers of progress. "I
think in the past there have lots of plans with great ideas but they
haven't put the stakes in the ground to say "¢Here's the expectation of
where we're going to be.' We've committed to that from day one."

So far, the group is putting some serious markings on the yardstick of success.

In
August, we will know more accurately how well the initiative is
working. The release of the Regional Indicators Report will shed some
light on how we're faring in relation to economic health and regional
vitality, compared to others around the U.S. Agenda 360 leaders hope it
will help the community benchmark progress.

With community members onboard, Agenda 360 could hit the much-needed homerun for the region where previous attempts struck out.

"If we do this right," Stagaman concludes, "everybody will be better off when we're done."